By Josh Williams
Marvel has seemingly strived to capture the magic behind the idea of the shared universe. Each installation of their films falls under the umbrella of the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" or MCU for short. These films take place in the same general location, at the same general time, and with the same general characters. Now, while this seems like something that would be particularly easy to produce, other studios have unfortunately found out that it is not that simple. Marvel has found a massive amount of success in something that competing studios just cannot seem to get their hands on. But what happens when over the course of ten years, the story that you have been building towards finally prepares to see its end? With the release of last year’s "Avengers: Infinity War" and now "Avengers: Endgame", the overarching story that Marvel has been building towards is finally coming to a dramatic close. While Marvel sees a tremendous amount of success with a majority of their films, the Avengers titles are the ones that always seem to do the best. Whether it’s the big action set pieces, the drama, or just getting to see all of our beloved heroes on screen at the same time, the Avengers films tend to perform rather well. Most recently with "Avengers: Infinity War", Marvel crafted a perfect blockbuster. While it saw some criticism, it did achieve some things within their set universe that I believe are truly outstanding. “Infinity War” has some of the best performances in any Marvel movie, some of the most exciting action sequences in any Marvel movie, and an ending that knocks the wind out of you. So without further adieu, here are some things that I think make "Avengers: Infinity War" one of the greatest blockbusters in recent memory. 1. A Perfectly Balanced Ensemble
It was beyond impressive what we saw Joss Whedon do with the number of characters he had to wrangle in the first "Avengers", but Anthony and Joe Russo are working with almost triple the number of actors in this film, with an even larger number of extras. While there are obviously some characters who get a little more screen time than others (I.E. Thor, Gamora, Iron Man, etc.), just about every hero we've grown to love over the last decade gets a shining moment. While some characters get to show off a bit more range with their scenes, like Rocket and Thor in the spaceship, Star-Lord, and Gamora on Knowhere, and Iron Man and Spider-Man during the climax, everybody gets to have something to chew on, whether it be dramatic or comedic. Danai Gurira's brief performance after the loss of Black Panther is a massive emotional gut punch and her reaction is only shown for a maybe seconds, but we still feel the massive impact of how her character feels in that very moment.
2. A Memorable Performance From Josh Brolin
I kind of feel bad for the actors playing the heroes in Marvel films during 2018, because that was the year for villains. The year exploded with easily one of the greatest villain performances to date with Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger. The trend continued with Josh Brolin's Thanos and wrapped itself up with Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost. In the case of “Infinity War”, Brolin as the self-proclaimed prophet, hellbent on balancing the universe, is one of the most underrated performances from a comic book movie. Much like Andy Serkis in the "The Planet of the Apes" franchise, the way that Brolin manages to get his subtle facial expressions to shine through an entirely motion-captured CG performance is absolutely outstanding. He delivers his dialogue with grace and fluidity. Rarely do we see Brolin speak out of anger. He is always calm and collected, at peace with the decisions he is making. The emotion that shines through his giant purple face is something I often find myself thinking about: How he was so perfect at making his facial, vocal, and physical cues known through the technology. Thanks to Josh Brolin, Thanos was saved from just being another typical "I want to end the entire world" type of villain. He brought balance to the stereotype if you will.
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BEST PICTURE Nomadland (39) - AFCC, AWFJ, BAFTA, BOFCA, BSFC, CCA, CFCA, CIC, DFCS, DFWFCA, GFCA, GG, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFCA, IFJA, IPA, KCFCC, LEJA, LFCC, LVFCS, MFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NTFCA, OFCS, PFCS, PGA, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA, TFCA, TIFF, VENICE, VFCC, WAFCA, WFCC Promising Young Woman (10) - AACTA, COFCA, HCA, KCFCC, MCFCA, NFCS, OAFFC, SCA, SDFCS, WFCC Minari (7) - AFCA, NCFCA, NYFCO, OFCC, OFTA, PCC, UFCA Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (3) - BFCC, CIC, PFCC The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (3) - DFCS, HFCS, SAG Da 5 Bloods (2) - CIC, NBR First Cow (2) - FFCC, NYFCC Judas And The Black Messiah (2) - AAFCA, BRA Another Round - EFA Bad Boys For Life - NAACP Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains - ICS Rocks - BIFA Small Axe - LAFCA The United States vs. Billie Holiday - AARP BEST DIRECTOR Chloé Zhao (50) - AACTA, AFCC, AWFJ, BAFTA, BOFCA, BFCC, BSFC, CCA, CFCA, COFCA, DFCS, DFCS, DFWFCA, DGA, FFCC, GFCA, GG, GWNYFCA, HCA, HFCS, IFCA, IFJA, IPA, KCFCC, LAFCA, LEJA, LVFCS, MFCA, MSFCA, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NTFCA, NYFCC, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCC, OFCS, OFTA, PCC, PFCC, PFCS, SEFCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA, TFCA, VFCC, WAFCA Regina King (4) - AAFCA, BFCC, BRA, UFCA Spike Lee (3) - CIC, HFCS, NBR Lee Isaac Chung - AFCA Emerald Fennell - NFCS Darius Marder - SCA Steve McQueen - LFCC Andrew Patterson - GOTHAM Gina Prince-Bythewood - NAACP Kelly Reichardt - ICS Aaron Sorkin - AARP Thomas Vinterberg - EFA Remi Weekes - BIFA BEST ACTRESS Carey Mulligan (27) - AACTA, AFCA, AFCC, CCA, COFCA, DFCS, DFWFCA, GFCA, HCA, HFCS, KCFCC, LAFCA, LEJA, MCFCA, MFCA, NBR, NFCS, NTFCA, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFTA, PCC, PFCS, SCA, SDFCS, StLFCA, WFCC Frances McDormand (25) - AWFJ, BAFTA, BOFCA, CFCA, DFCS, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFCA, IFJA, IPA, LFCC, LVFCS, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, OFCC, OFCS, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, SFCS, TFCA, UFCA, VFCC, WAFCA Viola Davis (6) - BFCC, BRA, CIC, NAACP, PFCC, SAG Andra Day (2) - AAFCA, GG Sidney Flanigan (2) - BSFC, NYFCC Maria Bakalova - IPA Paula Beer - EFA Nicole Beharie - GOTHAM Sophia Loren - AARP Rosamund Pike - GG Wunmi Mosaku - BIFA Isabel Sandoval - ICS BEST ACTOR Chadwick Boseman (28) - AACTA, AAFCA, AWFJ, BFCC, BRA, CCA, CFCA, CIC, DFCS, DFWFCA, GG, IFCA, LAFCA, LEJA, LFCC, MFCA, MSFCA, NAACP, OFTA, PCC, PFCS, SAG, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, VFCC, WAFCA, WFCC Riz Ahmed (21) - AFCA, AFCC, COFCA, GFCA, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IPA, KCFCC, LVFCS, NBR, NDFS, NFCS, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS, SFCS, TFCA, UFCA Delroy Lindo (11) - BOFCA, DFCS, HCA, HFCS, IFJA, MFCA, NCFCA, NSFC, NYFCC, OFCS, PFCC Anthony Hopkins (6) - AARP, BAFTA, BIFA, BSFC, FFCC, NFCS Sacha Baron Cohen (2) - GG, IPA Mads Mikkelsen - EFA Aditya Modak - ICS Steven Yeun - NTFCA BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Youn Yuh-jung (34) - AFCA, AWFJ, BAFTA, BFCC, BSFC, COFCA, DFCS, GFCA, GWNYFCA, HCA, IFCA, KCFCC, LAFCA, LEJA, MCFCA, MFCA, NBR, NCFCA, NTFCA, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCC, OFTA, PCC, PFCS, SAG, SCA, SEFCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA, VFCC, WAFCA Maria Bakalova (16) - AFCC, BOFCA, CCA, CFCA, CIC, FFCC, HFCS, IFJA, LFCC, MCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NYFCC, OFCS, TFCA, UFCA Amanda Seyfried (4) - DFWFCA, IPA, LVFCS, PFCC Ellen Burstyn (2) - DFCS, NYFCO Dominque Fishback (2) - AAFCA, BRA Jodie Foster (2) - AARP, GG Kosar Ali - BIFA Sônia Braga - ICS Glenn Close - NFCS Olivia Colman - AACTA Olivia Cooke - HFCS Phylicia Rashad - NAACP BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Daniel Kaluuya (20) - AAFCA, AFCA, BAFTA, BRA, CCA, DFCS, DFWFCA, GG, LEJA, LVFCS, MFCA, NFCS, OAFFC, OFTA, PCC, PFCS, SAG, SFCS, TFCA, VFCC Paul Raci (18) - AFCC, BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, COFCA, FFCC, GFCA, GWNYFCA, HCA, HFCS, IFCA, NBR, NSFC, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Leslie Odom Jr. (9) - AWFJ, BFCC, HFCS, IFJA, KCFCC, NYFCO, OFCS, UFCA, WAFCA Sacha Baron Cohen (7) - AACTA, DFCS, MCFCA, NCFCA, NDFS, NTFCA, SEFCA Chadwick Boseman (5) - CIC, IPA, NAACP, NYFCC, PFCC Francisco Barreiro - ICS Demián Bichir - AARP D’angelou Osei Kissiedu - BIFA Shaun Parkes - LFCC Glynn Turman - LAFCA BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Nomadland (20) - AFCA, AWFJ, CCA, CFCA, COFCA, DFCS, GFCA, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, KCFCC, LFCC, NCFCA, OAFFC, OFCC, OFCS, OFTA, SEFCA, USC, WAFCA The Father (6) - BAFTA, BIFA, IPA, NFCS, SCA, SDFCS One Night In Miami (6) - AAFCA, HCA, LEJA, LVFCS, PCC, PFCS I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (5) - BOFCA, BSFC, FFCC, StLFCA, UFCA First Cow (4) - DFCS, ICS, PFCC, SFBAFCC Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2) - BFCC, CIC Borat Subsequent Moviefilm - WGA News Of The World - NBR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Promising Young Woman (25) - AFCC, AWFJ, BAFTA, CCA, CIC, COFCA, DFWFCA, GFCA, HCA, HFCS, IPA, KCFCC, LAFCA, MFCA, NDFS, NFCS, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCC, OFCS, OFTA, SFCS, StLFCA, WAFCA, WGA Minari (11) - AFCA, BFCC, DFCS, FFCC, LEJA, NBR, NCFCA, SDFCS, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, TFCA The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (10) - AACTA, AARP, CIC, DFCS, GG, HFCS, MCFCA, PFCS, UFCA, VFCC Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always (7) - CFCA, GWNYFCA, IFJA, NSFC, NYFCC, OAFFC, WFCC The Forty-Year-Old-Version (3) - BRA, GOTHAM, NAACP Another Round - EFA Bacurau - ICS Fourteen - GOTHAM Judas And The Black Messiah - LVFCS BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Nomadland (35) - AFCA, AFCC, AWFJ, BAFTA, BOFCA, BSFC, CCA, CFCA, CIC, COFCA, DFWFCA, GFCA, GWNYFCA, HCA, HFCS, LEJA, LVFCS, MCFCA, MFCA, NBR, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCS, OFTA, PFCC, PFCS, SDFCS, SEFCA, SFCS, StLFCA, UFCA, WAFCA Mank (4) - FFCC, IPA, OFCC, SCA Tenet (4) - BFCC, HFCS, NFCS, NTFCA Small Axe (2) - LAFCA, NYFCC Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains - ICS First Cow - SFBAFCC Hidden Away - EFA I'm Thinking Of Ending Things - PCC Malcolm & Marie - BRA Saint Maud - BIFA The Vast Of Night - KCFCC BEST COSTUME DESIGN Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (9) - BAFTA, CCA, CDG, CIC, HFCS, LVFCS, OFTA, PFCS, SFCS Emma. (3) - CFCA, LEJA, SDFCS The Personal History Of David Copperfield (2) - HCA, IPA Hidden Away - EFA Jingle Jangle - BRA Misbehaviour - BIFA Mulan - CDG Promising Young Woman - CDG BEST FILM EDITING Nomadland (10) - AFCA, AWFJ, BOFCA, GWNYFCA, LEJA, NDFS, OFCS, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (10) - ACE, CCA, CIC, COFCA, HCA, HFCS, IPA, MCFCA, PFCS, UFCA Sound Of Metal (5) - BAFTA, CCA, LVFCS, MFCA, OFTA The Father (2) - BIFA, LAFCA I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (2) - BSFC, CFCA The Invisible Man (2) - MCFCA, SDFCS Once More Unto The Breach - EFA Palm Springs - ACE Tenet - WAFCA The Wasteland - ICS BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (6) - BAFTA, CCA, CIC, HCA, LEJA, MUAHS Birds Of Prey (2) - MUAHS, OFTA The Endless Trench - EFA Mank - HFCS Misbehaviour - BIFA Pinocchio - MUAHS BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Soul (33) - AFCA, AFCC, BAFTA, BOFCA, BRA, CCA, CFCA, CIC, COFCA, DFCS, FFCC, GFCA, GG, GWNYFCA, HCA, HFCS, HMMA, LAFCA, LEJA, LVFCS, MFCA, NCFCA, OFCC, OFCS, OFTA, PCC, PFCS, SCL, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA, UFCA, WAFCA Tenet (4) - HMMA, IFJA, MCFCA, SCA Mank (3) - DFWFCA, HFCS, NDFS David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet (2) - HMMA, IFMCA Minari (2) - BSFC, HMMA Berlin Alexanderplatz - EFA Blizzard Of Souls - SCL The Call Of The Wild - IFMCA Fukushima 50 - IFMCA The Invisible Man - HMMA The Midnight Sky - IPA News Of The World - HMMA Nomadland - IFCA The Personal History Of David Copperfield - IFMCA Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time - ICS Wolfwalkers - IFMCA Wonder Woman 1984 - IFMCA BEST ORIGINAL SONG One Night In Miami (12) - BRA, CCA, CIC, DFCS, GFCA, HFCS, HFCS, IFCA, LEJA, MCFCA, OFTA, PFCS The Life Ahead (3) - GG, HMMA, IPA Eurovision (2) - HCA, SCL Giving Voice - HMMA Judas And The Black Messiah - LVFCS The Outpost - HMMA Over The Moon - NDFS Trolls: World Tour - HMMA BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Mank (22) - ADG, BAFTA, CCA, CFCA, CIC, FFCC, GFCA, HCA, HFCS, IPA, LAFCA, LVFCS, MCFCA, NDFS, NFCS, OFTA, PFCS, SDFCS, SDSA, SFCS, StLFCA, WAFCA Tenet (2) - ADG, SDSA Birds Of Prey - MFCA Da 5 Bloods - ADG First Cow - SFBAFCC His House - BIFA Jingle Jangle - BRA Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - LEJA The Personal History Of David Copperfield - EFA Promising Young Woman - SDSA A Portuguesa - ICS Soul - ADG BEST SOUND Sound Of Metal (9) - BAFTA, CAS, DFCS, HFCS, ICS, IPA, LEJA, MFCA, OFTA Greyhound - MPSE Little Girl - EFA The Reason I Jump - BIFA BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Tenet (13) - BAFTA, CCA, DFCS, HFCS, HFCS, IPA, MFCA, NCFCA, NFCS, PFCS, SDFCS, SFCS, StLFCA The Invisible Man (6) - CFCA, CIC, HCA, LEJA, LVFCS, OFTA Mank - VES The Midnight Sky - VES Mulan - VES The One And Only Ivan - VES The Platform - EFA Possessor - FFCC Project Power - VES Soul - VES BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Soul (38) - AAFCA, AFCC, ANNIE, AWFJ, BAFTA, BFCC, CCA, CIC, DFCS, DFCS, DFWFCA, FFCC, GFCA, GG, HFCS, IFCA, IFJA, LEJA, LVFCS, MSFCA, NAACP, NBR, NCFCA, NDFS, NFCS, NTFCA, NYFCO, OFCC, OFCS, OFTA, PCC, PFCC, PFCS, PGA, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, WAFCA Wolfwalkers (17) - AFCA, ANNIE, BOFCA, CFCA, COFCA, GWNYFCA, HCA, IPA, KCFCC, LAFCA, MFCA, NYFCC, OAFFC, SDFCS, SFCS, TFCA, UFCA Josep (2) - EFA, ICS The Wolf House - BSFC BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM Another Round (18) - AFCC, AWFJ, BAFTA, CFCA, EFA, GFCA, IFJA, KCFCC, LFCC, LVFCS, MCFCA, NCFCA, PFCS, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, UFCA, WAFCA Minari (14) - AFCA, CCA, COFCA, DFCS, DFWFCA, GG, GWNYFCA, NTFCA, NYFCO, OFCS, OFTA, PCC, SFCS, VFCC La Llorona (6) - BSFC, HCA, IPA, LEJA, NBR, WFCC Night Of The Kings (4) - AAFCA, BFCC, BRA, NAACP Bacurau (3) - BOFCA, NYFCC, TFCA Collective (2) - AARP, NSFC The Life Ahead (2) - HFCS, SDFCS And Then We Danced - NDFS A Sun - HFCS Beanpole - LAFCA His House - CIC Identifying Features - GOTHAM Jumbo - PFCC Los Fuertes - FFCC Martin Eden - OFCC BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Time (14) - AFCC, BFCC, BRA, DFWFCA, GFCA, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, LAFCA, NBR, NYFCC, OFTA, PFCC, SDFCS, SEFCA Collective (10) - BSFC, CEHA, EFA, IPA, LFCC, OAFFC, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, TFCA, VFCC Dick Johnson Is Dead (9) - CCA, CFCA, COFCA, DFCS, IFCA, IFJA, NCFCA, OFCS, UFCA Boys State (8) - AFCA, CIC, DFCS, LVFCS, OFCC, PCC, PFCS, WAFCA All In: The Fight For Democracy (5) - AAFCA, AWFJ, HCA, NDFS, NTFCA My Octopus Teacher (3) - BAFTA, HFCS, PGA The Dissident (2) - KCFCC, NFCS The Painter And The Thief (2) - AWFJ, BOFCA Beastie Boys Story - HFCS Class Action Park - HCA Crip Camp - IDA The History of the Seattle Mariners: Supercut Edition - SFCS Mucho Amor - LEJA John Lewis: Good Trouble - NAACP The Reason I Jump - BIFA A Secret Love - AARP The Social Dilemma - MCFCA Stuntwomen: The Untold Holywood Story -WFCC A Thousand Cuts - GOTHAM The Way I See It - NYFCO The Year Of The Discovery - ICS You Don't Nomi - FFCC AuthorsNicole Ackman Archives
April 2021
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